Aftermath

As Nimrod vanished, the Nighthawks around him slowly rose to their feet-most of them were seriously injured, and most of those injuries had been inflicted by the monster Riel.

"'2-049' is missing..."

Al Hassen let out a quiet sigh as he watched Dunn put on his gloves and retrieve the Antigonus Family's notebook from the yellow-and-black substance on the ground.

Dunn shook his head.

"There was no better option at the time. I'll explain the circumstances in my mission report and ask for the Church's opinion."

Nimrod made off with '2-049'... A pang of guilt rose in Klein's heart, and he said to Dunn:

"I'm sorry, Captain."

Dunn shook his head. "There's no need to apologize. I saw everything-you didn't ask the Aurora Order's Oracle for help, and afterward, you even dissuaded him from hurting Leonard. You did nothing wrong. Even in your place, I couldn't have done any better."

"You need to understand that even the weakest Oracle of the Aurora Order is equivalent to the captain of an entire Beyonder team like ours."

Then Dunn said to Klein and the others, "Compared to losing '2-049,' I'm far more relieved that none of you died in this incident or suffered irreversible injuries."

"...Captain, I have something to report as well." Leonard stood up, apparently aggravating his injuries, and failed to keep the grimace off his face.

"We'll talk when we get back." Dunn lightly pressed his temples. "...There's too much to deal with."

Nimrod strolled down the street with his walking stick, talking to himself:

"Showing myself to the Nighthawks this time wasn't part of the plan, but I gained quite a lot."

"This operation netted me a Sequence 5 Beyonder item. Perhaps I can trade it to the Church of Evernight for the Blood Vessel Thief later, though the Church probably won't agree. I let Klein know that I also possess some of the gray fog's power, which will make talking to him the day after tomorrow easier. I reminded Leonard..."

Nimrod paused, choosing his words more carefully. "I reminded Pallez Zoroast about matters concerning Adam. He'll probably take the initiative to have Leonard drop hints to the Church of Evernight."

"That way, after losing '2-049,' the Church of Evernight will definitely send reinforcements, regardless of whether it had already dispatched anyone to Tingen. And Ince Zangwill will have to scrap his script and rewrite it..."

"Klein has the Evernight Goddess's attention. She'll bend the rules for him in certain matters. She won't lock him in the Goddess's little funhouse just because of me..."

"The only problem is that the Aurora Order's Descent of God ritual can no longer proceed."

At that, Nimrod smiled and said inwardly, But I never intended to let the True Creator descend here anyway...

That was even better news for him.

This unexpected bout of "support" had indeed brought Nimrod considerable gains. With a new Beyonder item to aid him, he was more confident about facing the new enemy that had appeared in the second loop of the current fated timeline.

His tentative plan was to fully digest the Mystery Pryer potion within the fated timeline, after which he could begin preparing to advance to Fire Thief.

He had already spent six days in Cordu Village's dream, and each subsequent stretch of time would only grow shorter. Now that he had actively changed Lumian's condition, the problems in the dream's final two loops were bound to erupt even more violently!

With that thought, Nimrod glanced at the gray countdown on the back of his hand, visible only to him. He had roughly four days left to prepare.

After he returned to the Aurora Order's base, the Celestial Worthy's figure appeared in his room right on schedule. Smiling, the Celestial Worthy said to Nimrod:

[How does it feel? These are God Almighty's usual methods-making all things unfold according to his wishes. Though the one controlling events here isn't God Almighty, you aren't me, either.]

"I understand what you're getting at."

Nimrod shrugged, ignoring the Celestial Worthy's boasting.

"But I have to admit, the Aurora Order's presence makes countering '0-08's' arrangements much easier. A single sentence can keep '0-08' busy for ages."

[You could call this God Almighty reaping what he sowed.] The Celestial Worthy sounded delighted.

"Speaking of which, I have a few more questions for you."

Nimrod spoke slowly, drawing the Celestial Worthy's attention.

"I've never been quite sure how deep my connection to Sefirah Castle really goes. It seems deeper than Klein's, but against a true High Sequence being, how much help can Sefirah Castle provide?"

The Celestial Worthy smiled.

[How much help?]

[Sefirah Castle can grant you a status equivalent to a Great Old One's. Of course, you already possess a status beyond that of a pillar, but most of it is confined within this frail shell. It can also make other gods mistake you for me, making them hate you and fear you.]

[Your current Sequence is too low. In an environment without Sefirah Castle's power, it's difficult for you to draw on it to access High Sequence abilities in advance. Your status is very high, but you lack the corresponding spirituality. Things may improve somewhat once your Sequence is higher.]

[So this question has no meaning for you as you are now.]

"Does it really have no meaning?"

Nimrod tapped the tabletop before him.

"Celestial Worthy, take a guess. If the Evernight Goddess discovers something with Amon's face, the aura of the Lord of Mysteries, and the status of a pillar near the place where a 'successor to the Lord of Mysteries' landed, what will she do?"

The Celestial Worthy listened quietly until Nimrod finished, then spoke with a slightly different tone. [Hmm, I think I know what you're getting at. Amanises was the first vessel I sent down. She possesses some of my traits.]

"Exactly." Nimrod nodded.

"I don't think she'll rashly choose to attack me. Instead, she'll try to approach me through conciliatory means-through Klein, or even in person. Either is possible."

[So you intend to disguise yourself as a 'nuclear bomb,'] the Celestial Worthy said.

[If she's uncertain about your status, she won't recklessly make an enemy of you. That's a very human way of thinking-but if you really were me, would it do any good at all? What makes humans think they can tether a pillar with so-called anchors?]

"That's why I need to establish exactly how deep my connection to Sefirah Castle goes," Nimrod said slowly.

"Fortunately, I really can disguise myself as a 'nuclear bomb.'"

Although Nimrod had already been seventy or eighty percent confident, this involved a god. He had to ensure his own safety.

After exchanging a few perfunctory remarks with the Celestial Worthy, Nimrod suddenly felt a stir in his spirituality. He snapped his fingers, and the Animated Void fetched a letter from the mailbox and placed it before him.

The Celestial Worthy remarked sarcastically, [Seriously? You even bother a messenger rather than go downstairs to collect a letter?]